Roundup for a Friday morning:

Afghanistan: A Quiet Triumph May be Brewing

Iraq: Counterinsurgency in al Qaeda's last bastion in Baghdad by Bill Roggio.
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Marta Beatriz Roque was arrested in Cuba yesterday.

But don't worry: it's Friday, so the Cuban propaganda machine will surely come up with another Fidel rumor. It keeps the media distracted from what's going on.
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Gerard VanderLeun doesn't need boxing gloves to pack a punch: take a look. Gerard was my podcast guest last July, and he's great. You can listen to him here (I woke him up early and before he came on Siggy & I talked about men's shirts).
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What is it with the Clintons, Money, China, and Satellites?
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US State Department "No Jews Allowed" Program-Miriam's Story
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10 Ways Online Terrorism is Affecting the Markets
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A Blumen idiot
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Six inconvenient truths about the U.S. and slavery vs An Argument He Can’t Possibly Win
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One from Maria: Back to the pomegranate
Before the juice, before the liqueur, there was the fruit. And it was fabulous.
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Special thanks to Larwyn for the links.